As two giants join forces, classic genetics like OG Kush and Bubba Kush Pre-98 will become available worldwide. Clever Leaves, a multinational company based in Colombia announced on September 21 a partnership to House of Kush. This will be House of Kush’s exclusive global grower and distributor.

Clever Leaves will produce genetics for House of Kush—thus expanding their reach outside of the United States and Canada.

Clever Leaves will cultivate House of Kush’s genetics at facilities in Colombia and Portugal over the course of the next three years. Clever Leaves’ footprint is global with smokable flower already being sold in Germany, Israel, and Australia.

Clever Leaves will produce House of Kush’s signature strain—Bubba Kush Pre-98—as well as other classics such as San Fernando Valley OG Kush. Different theories abound, but Bubba Kush appeared on the market in the ‘90s, noted by its sedative effects. Many people have used it for pain relief, anxiety, insomnia, and sleep disorders.

This is a huge scale: Clever Leaves Colombia boasts 18 hectares (44 acres) of cultivation. More importantly though, the company holds European Union Good Manufacturing Practices (EU GMP) Certification, a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Certification by Colombia National Food and Drug Surveillance Institute – Invima, and Good Agricultural and Collecting Practices (GACP) Certification.

Clever Leaves Portugal operates over nine million square feet on land with two60,000 square feet greenhouses. A license issued by INFARMEDI.P. (Portuguese pharmaceutical regulatory authority) gives them the regulatory privilege.

House of Kush Genetics

The partnership will deliver House of Kush’s genetics to a wider market. “Going international was really a big step,” says House of Kush co-founder and Chief Sales Officer Steve Gardner. “Clever Leaves do such good work. And we’ve been so impressed with them. And we’ve really been working on this deal for almost a year. But when you get plugged in with a group like that, that can take you all over the place.” Gardner’s roles as serial entrepreneur, advisor, investor in sports and entertainment date back 30 years.

“I would echo that sentiment and also just bring in the point that other countries are more quickly adopting and having more open, flexible laws than what we’re experiencing currently in the U.S.,” says House of Kush co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Reggie Harris. “This is it. having the opportunity to get there early in our growth strategy not only helps us improve our status as a U.S. company, but everybody’s in the game to be able to spread that knowledge and the product and be able to get out there. So [it’s as much of an]As much as exposure is beneficial, it can also provide financial benefits. The two are very complementary. It’s not one without the other.” Harris’ background as a senior executive in sports and entertainment goes back two decades.

“Our first introduction to Bubba Kush was actually through Matt Bubba Berger, who was one of the original cultivators, and obviously Bubba Kush was part of that founding group that came up with OG Kush as well,” Harris adds. “And I was looking at it and reached out to Steve [Gardner] and said, ‘You know, I got this interesting call, product opportunity. Let’s go sit down and talk about it.’”

Another story is how to safeguard those genetics. House of Kush explored the potential of blockchain technology to protect their genes, but it is worth more for House of Kush to continue building their brand.

“The biggest protection for us is quality assurance,” Harris adds. “We’ve created a kush certified program, to where we go through and we tell people, these are the recommended ways of growing the genetics, this is the proper way, the proper soil, the proper water, all that type of stuff, because we know ultimately, right now, federally, we can’t protect it, it’s going to be some somebody could take it, we will lose more money trying to defend it, then we will just go on out being better than they are. So we spent a lot of time just trying to have the great genetics and the great SOPs around that to make sure that it comes out right on the other side and up to our standard.”

International travel: Regulatory benefits

Clever Leaves’ footprint is all over the globe, but each facility has a distinctive purpose. “We have two facilities, one in Colombia, one in Portugal,” says Julián Wilches, co-founder and Chief Regulatory Officer of Clever Leaves. “The Portugal facility is focused on flower. Colombia’s facility was primarily focused on raw materials and final products, such as oil. In the future, Colombia will have the option to export its flower. But now it is very important for us and we’re going to have access to additional genetics.”

One of Clever Leaves’ advantages is holding certifications in Europe. However, international expansion is key to success.

“If you cultivate in the U.S., you cannot export it, because of the federal prohibition in the U.S.,” says Gustavo Escobar, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Clever Leaves. “So the fact that we can cultivate in Colombia and export it for medicinal purposes, opens the global market. We’re focused on four markets in addition to the U.S.: Australia, Israel, Germany, and Brazil. We cannot sell flowers in Brazil. Therefore, I’d say there are only three countries that can sell flower: Australia and Israel. There are also markets such as Portugal, Italy, U.K. and Ireland. Most likely France and Spain. We now have Thailand. So the world is moving towards medicine and medicinal legalization.”

This partnership is a win-win situation for both businesses.

“Working together, you can do better things,” Wilches adds. “So partnering with people with good genetics, and having the capabilities that were described—that will give us a better opportunity of success in those markets. So we believe in partnerships and we believe in working together and creating long-term relationships for being in the market in the long term with really high quality and good product.”